I am always looking for what makes us more curious. What makes our lives as marketers and consumers new, amazing and incredible. Brilliant ideas transform you, they leave you feeling different when they enter your life. There's a serotonin bath of awe and wonder that ordinary, me-too products or people or ideas just don't offer. That's what we're here for: to create the new. So that's what this is about. And this isn't the end, it's just the beginning.

Why Everyone Wants Ron Johnson And JC Penney To Succeed

Everyone wants to Ron Johnson, the latest ceo at J.C. Penney company, to succeed. Johnson was snatched from Apple, to turn around the flailing J.C. Penney stores. Famously, Ron Johnson helped to create the Apple Store, hailed as the fastest retail success in history. (Apple is, truly, the miracle on 14th Street, just walk into their store in the Meat Packing district of Manhattan).

Johnson started his tenure at the century-old company by giving J.C. Penney customers a completely new pricing strategy that has been acknowledged as confusing. As a result, loyal JCP customers have stopped shopping there, and too few new customers have replaced them, despite a guest lineup including Martha Stewart Home (her contract is now in a legal dispute), Tourneau, Izod, Nanette Lepore, and more.

The new Sephora launch is gorgeous, but the store sales floors are empty, with no customers there to see it.

An exciting advertising campaign featuring Ellen Degeneres tried to raise the bar, but the campaign did not close the loop on where the company is headed. Whether that was due to the message or the messenger is undetermined.

A few weeks ago, JCP president Michael Francis (like Johnson, a Target alum) was sacrificed to the gods of sluggish retail after nine months on the job.

Still, everyone wants to see Ron Johnson succeed.

There are many reasons for this. First, his success will be one of the biggest turnarounds of the century.

Second, stockholders want Johnson to return on their investment.

Other retailers—even competitors—want Johnson’s visionary status to reveal itself with a beacon out of the splintered state of retail, into a future they either imitate or riff off of.

Vendors and partners want Ron Johnson to succeed so they can maintain their valuable relationships.

Employees want Ron Johnson to succeed so they can continue to serve customers.

Shoppers want Ron Johnson to succeed so that we can have something fresh and sparkling to be excited about. We want Johnson to do for department stores what Mario Batali’s Eataly did for grocery stores. We want Johnson to do for department stores what Smart Cars, Mini Cooper, and Prius did for automobiles. We want Johnson to do for department stores what Apple did for computers.

What Ron Johnson needs to figure out before Black Friday, is how to make it all happen.

Ron Johnson has America’s Toughest Job and his mistakes are real. First, by taking away the weekly sales customers loved, Johnson abandoned his core JCP shopping enthusiasts. In effect, signaling to core JCP enthusiasts—shoppers who have sustained J.C. Penney through its years of retail muddling, that they no longer mattered. He confused them, and he pissed them off. He needs to re-engage them.

Johnson needs to jump into his data and peel back the deep-skin reasons why these zealots shop at JCP—what do they love, what do they hate, how can he keep them shopping there, so he can transition to the kind of JCP he’s trying to build, without pissing them off?

(One shopper named ex penneys shopper writes online, “I wish you could have seen my credit card, I’m sure it was at least $6000.00. that’s alot of interest for jc pennies [sic] to warn [sic] monthly because I constantly found something I liked at pennies and purchased it….now, I have not made one purchase since dec,2011 and my credit card is one payment shy of being paid off. why? because there is nothing good to buy in jcpenneys anymore! you completely dumped on all your tried and true shoppers!”)

Next, Johnson has to discover his potential zealots, the next line of customers who may consider shopping at JCP if only….what? Listening to consumers is anathema in Silicon Valley, where the credo (with reason) is that consumers cannot anticipate what they need or want. But Kemmerer, Wyoming, where J.C. Penney stores got their start, is not Silicon Valley and for a department store, listening to consumers can be crucial—not how to pick out next year’s fashions (GAP tried that and failed), but to let them expound on what they do or don’t like about the experience—the same bundle that helps us prefer Starbucks and Nordstrom’s.

This is at least one way Johnson and colleagues can learn how to re-engage existing JCP zealots and maintain existing customers without flat-lining in the process.

At the same time, they must define the cross-media swathe that will engage Millennials and other fresh-minded shoppers being diverted by amazon.com, zappos.com, glitz.com, and other online retail platforms. This will also enthuse shoppers in the Town Hall boutique experience JCP revealed last week.

JCP is one of the most complex turnarounds to happen lately (happily, without taxpayer support). And the clock is ticking.

The end of summer is nearing and Black Friday—the sales day when most retailers make their year—is but 18 weeks away. President Michael Francis is out and Ron Johnson is inside, taking all responsibility. Shareholders and the JCP board of directors must be calling and sending distracting emails every day. Drama builds. Tension mounts. If success can happen here, it can happen anywhere. Everywhere.

The good news is that good news is coming. Ron Johnson has surrounded himself with the brightest and most illuminating minds in fashion, retail, marketing, merchandising, human resources, and finance, to help cross-pollinate and ladder good-better-best ideas into an architecture of superb transformation.

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Ellen was a huge tactical mistake for JCP as were some of their more recent (Father’s Day Ads). Many JCP stores are in more rural areas and it is clear JCP has forgotten who their customer is. They typically are hardworking Americans (note JCP logo and color scheme – they wave the red, white and blue big time) with Christian values. I have seen smaller communities run a business out of town (Cub in rural MN for one) because of this loss of sight. This same rural town has a JCP and it is dead too.

Like so many other companies – JCP has elected to include their political agenda into their marketing plan. Like a great dinner party – leave your politics and religious opinions at the door and have a good time! When they learn that lesson – they may increase sales.

LOL, what was this article. Everyone (including competitors) wants Johnson to succeed? Um no, they don’t.

JCPenney is a mess. Even macy’s is well into a rather stunning turnaround. Johnson is by all accounts given credit for Apple retail, but at the end of the day the product is what sells. Apple wasn’t lacking sales prior to the retail stores, and so many people still get their apple stuff from outlets other than Apple stores.

He’e over-rated by a lot. The whole mobile checkout will be a disaster for anyone over the age of 50 who will just get frustrated. Trying to engage millenials and fashion-conscious youth is sill as the stores are simply too big (seriously, which big box stores do teens rave about?).

Good comment. What needs to be said, is that Macy’s is into the tenth year of its turnaround. Like JCP, Macy’s also tried to lose their strategy of always being On Sale, but quickly realized their error and reclaimed that territory. Also, there is truly a difference between people clamoring for Apple products anywhere and everywhere–then creating a store that equals that desire, and the problem behind JCP. Just as Target (Johnson’s other alma mater) was a slow, steady rollout across America from its Minneapolis epicenter. There was time for Target to make mistakes (and there were some) but those were buried in the steady rush of new ideas and superiority in the face of Kmart and other box discounters. Just now, JCP stands unsteadily on the shifting tectonic plates of a withering consumer base, growing online retail platforms, while trying figure out its reason for being, as well as merchandising, pricing strategy, and other points of differentiation. Let’s hope that Ron Johnson is given the time to get it right.

Ron has made a quick decisive move to catch up with the industry. slowly feed back a weekly circular as before , keeping in touch with customer on a weekly basis counts, like the grocery store ads, you get excited and motivated to go shopping when there is a buy one,get one , ending up withmore than you came in to shop for You have to get them in the store first, and by the way jcp has great customer service. they claim they have the right buyers for todays market trends , and we shall see, word gets around about fashion and price, good luck . Ron. keep it real, friendly and afforable, if you get the styles , they will come

Well I DONT WANT THEM TO SUCCEED! As a matter of fact I would get great joy seeing ron johnson fired. Before he destroys what remains of penneys. I believe he is putting it out of business

I am 55 years old and WAS a lifetime penneys shopper. their helpful sales people assited me in choosing clothes that looked good at affordable prices. Now those once helpful sales people are chained to their registers, they have been made mere cashiers:( Now I honestly dont care what anyone does in their bedroom but pushing the gay agenda is another reason to shop elsewhere. ellen was passeably OK the gay couples on the catalog went too far. Closing the pittsburgh call center costing our region 450 jobs is another reason to hate penneys. dropping sales and coupons another reason to shop elsewhere. Ron Johnson is a beancounter who only cares about more profits. In this case he over reached, his head is too large to walk thru the typical penneys mall entrance, and I believe penneys will ultimately join other failed retailers like montgomery ward, and the soon to join it sears:( Thanks Ron you have succeded in one thing, making lots of people hate penneys. If you had test marketed this idea in a couple states it would of avoided wasting tons of bucks nationwide.

The worst part are idiots like ron who hurt cxompanies yet walk away with golden parachutes

Well I DONT WANT THEM TO SUCCEED! As a matter of fact I would get great joy seeing ron johnson fired. Before he destroys what remains of penneys. I believe he is putting it out of business

I am 55 years old and WAS a lifetime penneys shopper. their helpful sales people assited me in choosing clothes that looked good at affordable prices. Now those once helpful sales people are chained to their registers, they have been made mere cashiers:( Now I honestly dont care what anyone does in their bedroom but pushing the gay agenda is another reason to shop elsewhere. ellen was passeably OK the gay couples on the catalog went too far. Closing the pittsburgh call center costing our region 450 jobs is another reason to hate penneys. dropping sales and coupons another reason to shop elsewhere. Ron Johnson is a beancounter who only cares about more profits. In this case he over reached, his head is too large to walk thru the typical penneys mall entrance, and I believe penneys will ultimately join other failed retailers like montgomery ward, and the soon to join it sears:( Thanks Ron you have succeded in one thing, making lots of people hate penneys. If you had test marketed this idea in a couple states it would of avoided wasting tons of bucks nationwide.

The worst part are idiots like ron who hurt companies yet walk away with golden parachutes

JCP is a complete train wreck that was totally avoidable. First of all, JCP was NOT in need of a total transformation. Prior to Ron Johnson, the company was solid and profitable. To be honest, JCP problems prior to Ron Johnson was their decision to eliminate or cripple their catalog business. The catalog business was a profitable channel and its demise was seen the following year in JCP profits. Under Ron Johnson, they have the following new self inflicted problems:

1. Lack of a testing mentality or marketing research–RJ lack of testing a philosophy first prior to implementing store wide is biting him in the a$$. Again, JCP is not an electronic store with a coveted brand and product

2. Pricing Strategy–does not give the customer the urgency to shop/visit the store

3. Attempting to gain a new customer base while alienating your current customer base–As was mentioned in the article. JCP advertising and spokesperson is definitely progressive and has alienated many of their current family value based customers. These same customers might not be vocal about their disagreement, they will instead choose not to shop at JCP.

4. Employee morale- With the huge staff reductions in the home office and field, plus the threat of more store staff reductions with the advent of their new self check/RFD process, the employees left at JCP are not significantly motivated and I was guess probably out looking for a new job before getting the axe.